Easter Saturday is traditional day for the Joe Cahill tournament, hosted by Cardinal O’Donnell’s (Fb) and involving about 250 children (Belfast Media). Shown above is the new board in Beechview Park, updating the one from last year.
Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2024 Paddy Duffy
T04075 [T04076] [T04077] “Mol an óıge agus tıocfaıdh sí” [encourage youth and it will flourish, or less literally, youth responds to praise]
The Palestinian West Bank is surrounded by, and in some places penetrated by, a system of barriers 440 miles long. In some places it takes the form of multiple fences, in others, of a concrete wall reaching to a height of 30 feet/9 metres. (Here is WP’s map of the wall in the vicinity of Bethlehem and Jerusalem, also showing the Israeli settlements in this part of the West Bank).
In this mural, a Palestinian stands on top of the wall and looks towards (Christian) Church Of The Holy Sepulchre and the (Islamic) Dome Of The Rock in old Jerusalem and imagines themselves a phoenix, a symbol representing rebirth and persistence, well known from (Irish) republican muraling (Peter Moloney Collection | Seosamh Mac Coılle collection).
The mural is on the International Wall, west Belfast, part of the Painting For Palestine project (Fb). The original artist is unknown.
The West Bank barrier is locally known as the “separation” or “apartheid” wall. For west Belfast’s own euphemistically-called “peace” wall, see State Art Vs Graffiti On The West Belfast “Peace” Line.
The next mural (to the right) can be seen in Worsening Crisis In Gaza.
The image above was taken on February 25th. Other “in-progress” images are as dated below.
February 18th:
January 28th:
January 24th:
Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2024 Paddy Duffy
T04085
T04064
T03971 [T04001]
T03940
Sinn Féın leaders Mary Lou McDonald and Michelle O’Neill intend to travel to the USA for St Patrick’s Day, despite US support for Israel in its sustained attack on Gaza (Indo). The SDLP has said that it will not travel to the White House (Bel Tel). Sinn Féın say they will use the trip to promote business opportunities in Northern Ireland. The Taoıseach will also be in DC, while the Tánaıste will be in Vancouver (Breaking News).
These posters are in west and south Belfast, from https://socialistdemocracy.org/ and the Socialist Party (NI) (web).
“No handshakes from Stormont for Genocide Joe. Take action against genocide in Gaza. Boycott the White House. Expel the Israeli ambassador.”
“Don’t look away. 30,000 people have been killed in Gaza. End the genocide.”
“Boycott genocide Joe. No greenwash at the White House. Leo/Mıcheál/Mary Lou stay away from St Patrick’s Day celebrations! Solidarity with Palestine.”
Click to enlarge
Copyright © 2024 Paddy Duffy
T04073 T04074
Martin Meehan joined the IRA in 1966 and was one of a few IRA volunteers defending Catholics in Ardoyne (Ard Eoın) in August 1969. Rioting did not cease there until the 16th, when British troops were finally deployed to the Crumlin Road to block mobs coming from the Woodvale and Shankill. Meehan resigned after the failure of the IRA to defend Ardoyne, Clonard, and Divis. This Magill article from the time summarises the IRA’s actions as “late, amateur and uncertain”. (Meehan would later rejoin the IRA and PIRA.)
For a close-up of the plaque, see Show Me The Man.
Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2024 Paddy Duffy
T04071 [T04072]
“The Reds” are Belfast soccer team Cliftonville FC. Although the team and their fans are “The Pride Of North Belfast”, this poster is on an electrical box on the Springfield Road, west Belfast.
Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2024 Paddy Duffy
T04057 [T04058]
This is one of five pieces by digital artist Saïd Hassan (ig) that is being painted on the International Wall as part of the Painting For Palestine (Fb) project. It shows a family of refugees living in a tent; the female adult is cooking over an open flame while three children look on.
This is the last (right-most) of the 12 murals.
The image above is from February 18th. Most of the mural was painted quickly but then it sat for many days without two of the faces and an unfinished patch on the right. This image (below) was taken on January 24th:
Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2024 Paddy Duffy
T04065
T03939 [T03951]
This mural of (Israeli) soldiers standing over the bodies of dead children is based on an original by Saïd Hassan (ig).
On the International Wall, west Belfast, part of the Painting For Palestine project (Fb). The next mural (to the right) can be seen in The International Court Of Justice.
Previously, from 2015: Graffiti in Cliftonville: “Israel, USA – how many kids have you killed to-day[?]”
January 24th:
Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2024 Paddy Duffy
T04047 [T04082] T03946 T03948 T03947
The first (left-most) mural of the Painting For Palestine project (Fb) reproduces a piece that once stood in a Gaza school, called The Land Is Ours, by Mohammed Alhaj, Abdullah Al Najar, Rami Al Safadi, and Abdel Hamid Fares. It shows a human figure holding a Palestinian flag that wraps around an olive tree and the Dome Of The Rock temple in Jerusalem.
February 26th:
Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2024 Paddy Duffy
T04045
T03956
Heba Zagout (ig) was a Palestinian artist and teacher who painted Palestinian women and scenes from everyday life, including one from 2022 of holiday fireworks over a Bethlehem skyline that includes both churches and mosques. (You can see the original acrylic on the Painting For Palestine facebook page). The painting has now been reproduced as a mural on the International Wall in CNR west Belfast. She and two of her children, Adam and Mahmoud, were killed in October in an Israeli air strike on Gaza. (Middle East Eye | Guardian)
The next mural (to the right) can be seen in Broken Family.
The image above is from February 4th. Below are in-progress shots in reverse-chronological order.
January 28th:
January 26th:
Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2024 Paddy Duffy
T03998 [T03999]
T03972
T03953
This entry chronicles (in reverse order/from latest to earliest) the painting of one of Saïd Hassan’s (ig) contributions to the Painting For Palestine (Fb) project that is currently transforming the International Wall on Divis Street in west Belfast. The piece appears to be inspired by the mass grave in Khan Younis (in the Gaza Strip) in which more than 100 corpses were buried in November (Al Jazeera video | Reuters gallery).
Hassan’s instagram post of his original artwork cites a few lines from Palestinian author Ghassan Kanafani (WP): “Let’s plant them as our martyrs in the womb of this soil thickened with bleeding … there is always room in the ground for another martyr.”
January 26th:
January 24th:
Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2024 Paddy Duffy
T03974 T03958 [T03959] T03957 T03943
Paddy Duffy Collection 